Do you think you're not as fat as you are?

davemacdonald31
davemacdonald31 Posts: 196 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've had this problem for a long time. When I'm doing my normal day to day activities, I don't feel fat. In my head I don't look fat. Just a little out of shape. That's all. Buddies tease me about my weight, which they are fat too. I keep telling myself that I don't look as big as them. In reality, I am, or even bigger. I don't like my picture taken because I know I'll see the real me and won't like it. But I do tend to get into some pictures whether I want to or not. Then reality sets in. I'm huge. It's a shot to the gut! No pun intended. It's sad. Makes me angry. How did I get this big? I didn't really know I was this big!! People find it hard to believe that I didn't see myself as a big person. They say well, you are into xxl shirts and size 42 pants. How do you not know?? I guess its just depressing when it finally sinks in. I do have about 75 lbs to lose.
Wish me luck people. Maybe my next post will be in the success stories.....
Thanks for listening!
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Replies

  • melaniewallacera
    melaniewallacera Posts: 7 Member
    I feel the exact same way. I dont feel crazy overweight but when I see a picture of myself I cringe.

    Good Luck with your journey
  • frenchystamps
    frenchystamps Posts: 5 Member
    I have the same issue. I also don't really notice when other people that I see on a regular basis lose or gain weight. I lost about 70 pounds a couple of years ago and of course, have the inevitable photos that I got caught in. I've gained the weight back and I can see the difference in the photos, but not in the mirror everyday.
  • cheryl_h80918
    cheryl_h80918 Posts: 2 Member
    Same here. I feel fine, but reality sets in when I see a picture of myself next to in shape friends, or go to the doctor -- high blood pressure and slightly high sugar. Hang in there. I need to lose 50+ lbs. I am retired now, and more hopeful than ever, with no stress, I can succeed. Good luck!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Yes, I often have this problem. The fact that friends and family are constantly telling me that I'm not fat doesn't help. I'm not huge, but I am more than a little overweight and SO much heavier than I was for most of my adult life.

    Best of luck to you.
  • LINIA
    LINIA Posts: 1,159 Member
    edited January 2016
    What an awful trick our minds and our perception plays on us, it would be so helpful to have the truth and have it "blasted" to us by how we feel.

    At a weight gain of 25 pounds bells, whistles and awareness would certainly help us catch it before it is such a huge amount of work to drop the extra.

    Good Luck to you Dave, you can do this! Happy 2016, the year of a new you.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    LINIA wrote: »
    What an awful trick our minds and our perception plays on us, it would be so helpful to have the truth and have it "blasted" to us by how we feel.

    At a weight gain of 25 pounds bells, whistles and awareness would certainly help us catch it before it is such a huge amount of work to drop the extra.

    I'd rather it went off at 10.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    I didn't know I was big for a very long time but I grew up in a family of very large people. I was among the smaller of the family members so I didn't think I was fat. Maybe chubby but not "fat". I was raised by my aunt who tipped the scale at almost 450 pounds when she died and we had to pay extra for a large truck to take her remains to a cremation facility that could handle large sizes. I actually had my wakeup call before that though and had lost almost 50 pounds before she passed. It was watching her become a recluse because she couldn't get around and had to be chained to an oxygen tank that really made me realize that we weren't a healthy family. I didn't want to end up like that so I began to make changes and while I'm still not where I want to be (had another baby in there and gained some back) I am much healthier than I used to be. I'm also determined to get to a healthy weight.
  • bri170lb
    bri170lb Posts: 1,375 Member
    I never thought of myself as fat until my health started to suffer when I turned 50. Just over weight, when in fact I was in the morbidly obese catagory.

    Now I've lost 120 pounds (30 more to lose)and I look in the mirror and see a fat person!

    It's a stark reminder that our brains can really play some crazy tricks with reality!
  • DKG28
    DKG28 Posts: 299 Member
    I know that feeling. Before I started losing, I didn't feel as big as my clothing size said, I guess because I could do everything I wanted to do, wasn't a couch potato, and had self-confidence, and walked everywhere fast. That's one reason it took so long to realize the extra weight was not good...I didn't really feel that I was that fat. But last year it eventually hit me, and I started doing something about it. I still have trouble imagining where that 50 lbs was on me, and I still have about 15 to lose. I do realize how much better I feel about my body now.

    With me, i was never called fat, and people tip-toed around my weight issue....I kinda think that enabled me to ignore it. I'm not sure that our culture moving in the direction of "it's okay to be a certain amount overweight" is a good thing, seeing as that there are folks like us who therefore don't realize the extent of the problem.
  • DKG28
    DKG28 Posts: 299 Member
    I know that feeling. Before I started losing, I didn't feel as big as my clothing size said, I guess because I could do everything I wanted to do, wasn't a couch potato, and had self-confidence, and walked everywhere fast. That's one reason it took so long to realize the extra weight was not good...I didn't really feel that I was that fat. But last year it eventually hit me, and I started doing something about it. I still have trouble imagining where that 50 lbs was on me, and I still have about 15 to lose. I do realize how much better I feel about my body now.

    With me, i was never called fat, and people tip-toed around my weight issue....I kinda think that enabled me to ignore it. I'm not sure that our culture moving in the direction of "it's okay to be a certain amount overweight" is a good thing, seeing as that there are folks like us who therefore don't realize the extent of the problem.
  • tradmad589
    tradmad589 Posts: 5 Member
    Just didn't feel the weight creeping up - always try to avoid pictures, could call it denial - but I completely agree with you. 2016 can be the year to change all that. Best of luck everyone :)
  • esdownie
    esdownie Posts: 5 Member
    Same here. I would look in a mirror and not see that I was FAT, but then pictures always told the real story. Stupid me... that's how I got to be 300 pounds! I would just ignore it or, if I HAD to get my picture taken, I would hide behind people or furniture in photos. Since I have started my new lifestyle, I have lost over 80 pounds, with about 30 more to go before I reassess my goal. Unfortunately, even having lost the weight that I have, I still look in a mirror and think that I look much skinnier than in pictures. Though, I'm pretty proud that I have gone from a size 26/28 at my largest to currently a size 14/16, so I'm half the person that I was and THAT is really what I should be focusing on, regardless of what I think and see. I just wish that my brain would see the same thing in both the mirror and in photos.
  • chenshaw86
    chenshaw86 Posts: 4 Member
    Same here. Gradually adapted to my increasing size and somehow told myself it wasn't that bad. I remember in my 20's seeing a picture of me and panicking and heading back to the gym. I was 45 pounds lighter then! I also avoid pictures but when I see one it still shocks me to realize how big I have become. Worst part is how unhealthy. You are not alone. Good luck to all of us!
  • davemacdonald31
    davemacdonald31 Posts: 196 Member
    It's good to know that I'm not all alone in this! I thought maybe I was the only one. With my baby girl coming in May, our first child, I want to be a positive influence, and be able to play with her without having a heart attack!!!
  • davemacdonald31
    davemacdonald31 Posts: 196 Member
    If anybody wants to add me, please feel free! Good luck to all.
  • shocker1974
    shocker1974 Posts: 26 Member
    I am the same way. And once i lost the weight and started looking in the mirror again i still looked fat to myself. No matter how many people said that i looked good or how many photos i compared i still looked fat. I started out as not seeing myself as fat to that is all i see.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I thought the same just a few years ago...never saw myself as a "big guy"...i was rail thin most of my life and I convinced myself that I was just finally filling out a bit and definitely had let myself get out of shape, but nothing major. Even pictures didn't really convince me because honestly, I carried the weight pretty well and proportionately.

    I didn't get it until I went in for my annual appointment with my doctor a few years ago and he said, "congratulations...you're officially obese." That was also accompanied by some really nasty blood work...really, it was the blood work that worried me the most as I have two young boys who at the time were mere toddlers and I thought how *kitten* it would be of me to continue what I was doing when I had such great responsibilities.
  • hmthomas317
    hmthomas317 Posts: 42 Member
    I can totally relate. Mentally I know that I am overweight and have about 75 pounds to lose myself, however, I never consider myself to be huge until I see myself in pictures or look at myself in a full length mirror. It's not fun. Here's to future success though. We can all do it!!
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    Yep, I feel you OP! At my heaviest I felt the exact same way. I thought I was just "kinda chubby" and always imagined myself differently than I actually looked. I avoided photos and full-length mirrors at all cost, and when I did see full body photos of myself, I would usually end up in tears.
  • pixlikesitcrazy
    pixlikesitcrazy Posts: 248 Member
    I had this problem when I was heavy, now that I'm tiny my brain goes in the complete opposite direction and I always feel much bigger than I am.

    In some ways I was more confident when I was fat.
  • jonial99
    jonial99 Posts: 10 Member
    I feel the same way. I even will ask my kids am I that big? And I think I'm looking good but then the pictures come out. I untag myself from every one. Hopefully we can stay motivated this year. That's my goal :).
  • dclark432
    dclark432 Posts: 18 Member
    I feel exactly the same way.
  • JDiane55
    JDiane55 Posts: 9 Member
    Good luck hope 2016 is your best year ever
  • LINIA
    LINIA Posts: 1,159 Member
    This concept appears everywhere, still out and about and can tell that those at about 50 or 60 pounds over really "do not see it" , some would say they are in denial but it seems more likely that to themselves there is that reality "mirror" distortion and of course, avoiding pictures helps in not facing the extra pounds that are visible on the body.
  • a1bowins
    a1bowins Posts: 5 Member
    I am glad I am not the only one who has felt this way. I thought I was alone.
  • AgentFlex
    AgentFlex Posts: 211 Member
    I went through this when I was overweight. It took seeing myself in a picture with a group of friends to realize I was as big as I'd gotten. You would have thought I'd have gotten the picture having to buy new clothes every couple of months because mine weren't fitting anymore! Stubborn minds!

    If it's any inspiration, I've maintained my weight loss just about 4 years now. My weight is up a bit due to gaining muscle mass through two bulk cycles, but that I'm ok with! Good luck!
  • akern1987
    akern1987 Posts: 288 Member
    I've never felt that I looked as heavy as I am. I always thought it was because I'm tall, but this past year, I really began to notice, not just in pictures (which, don't even get me started on that horror) but in the way that I feel. I used to be really athlectic and could keep up and do most things with ease (even with asthma) but I've gotten to the point where just the smallest set of stairs will wind me, and I don't like that. I've never been really unhappy being bigger, I've never had issues socially, I'm with an amazing man who is a great partner, but when I started to physically feel it, that's when it really started to sink in for me. Just keep at it, and keep your confidence up!!
  • Heidisjourney
    Heidisjourney Posts: 41 Member
    melaniewallacera wrote: »
    I feel the exact same way. I dont feel crazy overweight but when I see a picture of myself I cringe.

    Good Luck with your journey

    ^ this sums up my reply PERFECTLY
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    I can't tell you how many times I have looked in a mirror and been like.... "who the H** is that!! I literally could not recognise myself in pictures for quite a while.
  • treebek
    treebek Posts: 261 Member
    I was definitely shocked into reality by some candid pics that I did not know were being taken. what a wake up call! I knew I was overweight, but I had no idea how bad I looked because I did not "see" it when I looked in the mirror.

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